Rated 4 out of 5 by reviewer515505 Review about NetApp FAS Series Improvements to My Organization:We changed the way we do DR around NetApp replicationRoom for Improvement:Cluster mode needs to be more ubiquitous and the process for going to cluster mode is expensive.Deployment Issues:Unexpected costs and some systems not compatible with cluster modeStability Issues:Yes with the LDAP integration with user logins on the web frontendScalability Issues:nopeCustomer Service:awesomeTechnical Support:great . The partner company (Bytes) has a close relationship with us.Initial Setup:Straightforward though lots of hidden costs going to cluster mode and the amount of usable data is way lower than expected.Implementation Team:Vendor team - excellentOther Solutions Considered:EMCOther Advice:Double up on the amount of storage you expect to buy.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions. September 30, 2016

Rated 5 out of 5 by Henry FAS8k Series: Better performance & lower cost... Valuable Features:Better performance & lower costRoom for Improvement:May need more flexibility to fight wiith other competing arraysDisclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions. August 15, 2016

Rated 5 out of 5 by Ivan Silva It helps centralize and simplify all connections into one box. Valuable Features:It gives us the flexibility to work with all protocols on the same Storage Box. The WAFL (Write Anywhere File Layout) is the best feature implemented on this storage solution. Also, the DataONTAP is very reliable and stable, and I haven't had any problems yet. If you configure NetApp using the best practices, you should not have any issues with the performance. Lastly, the de-duplication works very well with all applications in a VMware environment, and you will save a lot of space. In my experience we save more than 80% of the space using deduplication on the volume.Improvements to My Organization:All the protocols on the same box can solve all the configurations problems. They also help centralize and simplify all connections into one box.The feature snapmirror is too simple to configure and it is the best way to configure one storage environment with High Availability site to site.Room for Improvement:Unify all backup software on the single tool to simplify the administration.Use of Solution:I've been using NetApp products for eight years, and currently use a V-Series3270 alongside the FAS devices.Stability Issues:No issues encountered.Scalability Issues:No issues encountered.Customer Service:10/10.Technical Support:10/10.Previous Solutions:In the past, I used, and still work with, solutions like Fujitsu and Hitachi, but when I have an opportunity to work with a NetApp solution, I don't want to go back. That's because the NetApp solutions give me more flexibility to work.Initial Setup:I think it is easy, because I have implemented NetApp in the past. I don't know if someone without work experience would be able to execute the initial setup. However, if you apply best practices, you should not have an issue.Implementation Team:I have experienced both in-house and vendor team implementations. Whenever it is done by the vendor, they are 10/10.ROI:The ROI for NetApp is good, and if you use it on a VMware environment, the ROI will be even greater.Cost and Licensing Advice:The price, sometimes, is very high, but the ROI is guaranteed.Other Solutions Considered:Ye I did, but I didn't find another solution that could centralize all the protocols into one box without an appliance.Other Advice:Study the NetApp solutions, and before you implement be sure to do PoCs.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions. June 5, 2016

Rated 4 out of 5 by Gonzalo Seoane I like that there are various modes and protocols you can use at the same time. Valuable Features:* Multi Protocol* Scalability* Homogeneous hardwareThere are various modes and protocols you can use at the same time. For customers who use NetApp 7-Mode, I would rate Data ONTAP 8/10 and for Clustered Mode 7/10.Improvements to My Organization:* Centralization of protocols within the same appliance* Software defined storage* Easy management* Scalability* SupportRoom for Improvement:Migration from 7-Mode to Clustered Data ONTAP need improvement. It seems NetApp didn't know how to solve the main problem of migrating data from an old OS (7-Mode ) to Clustered.Use of Solution:I've been using it for nine years, both using and implementing NetApp FAS series.Deployment Issues:Deploying NetApp appliances is hard work. A lot of experience is required, mainly when your project runs a MetroCluster solution.Stability Issues:There's an issue when you have a mix of a low-spinning disk (SATA 3TB ) and multi-protocol access (NFS, CIFS and FCP, and iSCSI). Data ONTAP performance with WAFL goes down on mid-range solutions with multi-protocol access.Scalability Issues:We've never had an issue with Clustered Data ONTAP, but we did with 7-Mode solutions and large amounts of data in the PB range.Customer Service:They have really good customer service.Technical Support:They have a good level of technical support when you escalate cases.Previous Solutions:I've used EMC solutions in different companies.Initial Setup:The initial setup was complex and you need experience.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions. March 21, 2016

Rated 3 out of 5 by Mihai Langa It provides very good storage High Availability and data protection. The thing we'd like to see the most is the possibility of pairing LAN/SAN ports from different nodes. Valuable Features:What impressed me the most about these systems are their excellent reliability, ease of administering (both in GUI and command line), and their very good documentation that is easy to access and understand. It provides very good storage, High Availability, and data protection by employing the use of two separate storage controllers that can take over each other's role as soon as any of them goes down. The technology has been improved even more after the introduction of the cluster cDot ONTAP OS.Improvements to My Organization:NetApp systems are a good choice if you want a versatile unified system that's also capable of delivering performance. Our company has been using NetApp filers both as file sharing solutions (CIFS over LAN) and also as block storage (LUNs) for VMware ESXi hosts.Since we switched to the newer 2552 models, we now benefit from better data protection and improved storage capacity thanks to the clustered Data ONTAP OS.Room for Improvement:The thing we'd like to see the most is the possibility of pairing LAN/SAN ports from different nodes. Currently, the systems only provide pairing (and thus redundancy) only at same-node level. Also, it wouldn't hurt having this sort of cross-functionality when it comes to choosing disks for aggregate structures. Right now, you can't integrate in the same storage aggregate disks from different shelves.Use of Solution:I've had the chance to work a lot with NetApp FAS 2552 series and also have some experience with older models such as 2050, 2040, 3240 and 2240. I think it's a pretty reliable unified storage solution. The FAS 2552 model, especially, offers good performance and excellent reliability. My experience with similar storage systems is, currently, somewhat limited however.My company has been using NetApp for a few years now, over four I think, and I have come into contact with this technology for over a year.Deployment Issues:When it comes to deployment we had our share of issues. Some of these issues are to blame on the vendor's lack of experience with the new models and ONTAP versions, but sometimes the systems themselves were faulty.Stability Issues:The most recent issue we had involves a LAN card that couldn't be set on the correct bandwidth setting. In consequence, the vendor had to replace one of the node's motherboard.Scalability Issues:There have been no issues with scaling it, other than during the actual deployment of new devices.Technical Support:If you buy NetApp systems from third-party vendors, then you would be surprised that their technicians aren't exactly up to date with the latest ONTAP versions. NetApp releases new versions (with great improvements) so often that it's hard for some vendors to stay up to date with their technical knowledge base.However, when it comes to technical support from NetApp directly, they tend to have a very competent team and the reaction time is pretty decent. Perhaps their biggest strong point in this chapter is their public knowledge base which helps you solve on your own most of issues you can encounter with configuring and administering.Initial Setup:All I can say is that if you take your time and study the NetApp documentation, you shouldn't have any issue, provided the initial setup was done properly by the vendor technician.Implementation Team:Initial setup is usually performed by NetApp or the third-party vendor from whom you purchased the devices. Our experience with third-party vendors isn't the best due to reasons stated above. All other configuration and administration is done in-house.Cost and Licensing Advice:When it comes to software licensing, I think that NetApp promotes a very fair system. Basically you only pay for the features you need (eg.: Cluster Mode, SnapMirror, SnapVault, etc.).Other Advice:The best advice I can offer is to try and purchase it directly from NetApp in order to have a better chance of having a successful initial configuration from the first try. Also, make sure you purchase the system with a General Availability OS version as Release Candidate ones tend to be bugged.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions. February 16, 2016

Rated 4 out of 5 by SystemsEng119 We were able to restore a lot of data in about an hour, although NetApp OnCommand, which has been a lot better recently, could still be made faster. Valuable Features:The integration with VMware is the most valuable feature for us because we run a lot of VMs and the backup is very good when you run your VM in NFS.Improvements to My Organization:We had a case when they had to restore a lot of data. We went back one hour and got back everything. The restore itself only took about an hour.Room for Improvement:Some of the tools could be improved like NetApp OnCommand. This has been a lot better recently, but they could make it faster.Use of Solution:We've been using it since 2005.Stability Issues:It's very stable and I’ve never experienced any problems in 10 years.Scalability Issues:It scales to our needs.Customer Service:8/10 - only because it is impossible to have a 10, as there is no one that good. We’ve had a good experience with their customer service.Technical Support:The solutions that are present on NetApp’s website are enough usually, but when it is tough for me to resolve it on my own I go to our consultant.Previous Solutions:We did a long time ago.Initial Setup:Initial setup was pretty straightforward. We started on a small scale and built it up.Implementation Team:We implemented it in-house, but we use a consulting company to help. Now, we run it on our own.ROI:It fulfills the needs we have for storing data well. We had a lot of storage spread out over many devices from many vendors and now everything is consolidated. It saves a lot of time.Other Advice:Ask other people who use it as references are really valuable.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions. November 25, 2015

Rated 5 out of 5 by ProdOwnerStg033 We are an online hotel reservations company, so if our website goes down we lose money at a very high rate per minute. It has been many years since we have had an outage due to storage because of FAS. Valuable Features:* Reliability* Snapshots* Ease of tooling* Integration with our systems* It's multiprotocolImprovements to My Organization:We are an online hotel reservations company, so if our website goes down we lose money at a very high rate per minute. It has been many years since we have had an outage due to storage because of FAS.Room for Improvement:The performance needs to be improved. Due to the performance issues, we're moving to NetApp Flash FAS as it provides almost infinite performance.Use of Solution:We've used it for nine years.Deployment Issues:We've had no issues with deployment.Stability Issues:The stability is excellent.Scalability Issues:It's scaled well for us.Technical Support:It takes a long time to resolve most cases. It requires an extensive amount of troubleshooting and tends to be very time consuming on our end in terms of collecting data for the engineers to work on.Initial Setup:It's straightforward. I'd say, though, that it's medium complexity because it is not done in one day.Implementation Team:We used a mixed team of in-house and vendor personnel.ROI:I wouldn't know how to begin to calculate it.Other Solutions Considered:That was a long time before I joined the company.Other Advice:Do your research on clustered Data ONTAP as it is a very complicated product, much more complicated than the previous version.Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:I used to work for NetApp as a consultant. November 17, 2015

Rated 4 out of 5 by Yasar Arias The integration with Windows for SQL exchange is critical, but it doesn't allow for live deduplication. Valuable Features:* High Availability – most important thing with all big storage systems* Flexible – it uses all different kinds of protocols (SAN, fiber channels)* Virtual Management Console – helps with and integrates with vSphere. I’ve deployed it, but haven’t configured it. Looks really promising.* Snap Drive – integration with Windows for SQL exchange is critical* Can update without taking the system downImprovements to My Organization:It’s a High Availability environment in which I haven’t had problems. We’ve only had one disk fail in a year. Quality of product is good.Room for Improvement:Tegile offers live deduplication. And NetApp can only be scheduled to dedupe in the background or for later.Also, the web page for downloading software could be more efficient (for example, getting instructions takes a few clicks). Make it easier for customers to download software.Initial Setup:The instructions didn’t provide for re-configurations from scratch and tech support were stuck too. The person who configured before had installed NetApp 8.2 on 7 mode. 8.3 didn’t support 7, which I wanted to do, so that’s why I had to reconfigure from scratch.Other Advice:First, make a lot of calculations of how much data you’re going to use and how much you’re using now. Compare the two and look into how you configure storage solution. How much data, how to split, etc. If you can’t spend that much on storage, you need to determine how to follow best practices to get as much storage as possible for the money. For example, if you have five shelves, you don’t need to worry about LUNs going offline. But if it’s just two shelves, like I have, you must be very careful about provisioning storage and use as much as possible.Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions. October 26, 2015